Photos of Renovated 2BR at Beach Place

[dioxide45]

We took several photos of the room we recently stayed in at Beach Place Towers.

Photos

 

[dougp26364]

Thanks for posting the photo's. It only confirms my decision was correct for us not to buy into BPT. While I'm sure those that like a city location find it a great place to stay, it just doesn't appear to be the place for us.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Nice photos! Tell me, is the parking garage still a pain in the neck to navigate? Also, did you find you had to wait a long time to obtain an elevator?

I was there some time ago and found the elevators to be hard to obtain and extremely slow.

 

[dioxide45]

Nice photos! Tell me, is the parking garage still a pain in the neck to navigate? Also, did you find you had to wait a long time to obtain an elevator?

I was there some time ago and found the elevators to be hard to obtain and extremely slow.

The parking garage is a pain. Having to go up four to five levels just to park and the same back down.

We didn't notice many issues with the elevators on this stay. A few times we waited a few minutes. When we toured a year ago we waited a long time and the cars would stop and you couldn't get on because they were already full. We didn't have this happen during our stay.

 

[Vacation Dude]

That place looks great and I see no reason for complaints.

Why do some of the rooms have crown moulding and some do not?

 

[pwrshift]

Thanks so much for posting your pics. It's been such a long time since BeachPlace looked that good. Got a pile of questions for you...

Looks like they kept the old kitchen & bath cabinets and the cheap arborite bedroom tables - typical of the HOA to only go half way.

The number of lamps is a nice improvement and seating arrangement in the living room much better. Dining room table same old same old. Living Room LCD TV looks quite small for the room size.

Did anyone try the sofa beds?

Could you tell if they upgraded the tiles in the shower or just scraped the mould out of the grout? Were the new fixtures of a decent quality?

How were the beds ... a true Revive bed with featherbed as in a full-service Marriott with down pillows and sheets, or did they cheapen that too....I'm a little suspicous that they just used the old mattresses.

Brian

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks so much for posting your pics. It's been such a long time since BeachPlace looked that good. Got a pile of questions for you...

Looks like they kept the old kitchen & bath cabinets and the cheap arborite bedroom tables - typical of the HOA to only go half way.

We also noticed that they didn't fit well. When we would upen the utensil drawer it would catch on the oven door and pull the oven door open also.

The number of lamps is a nice improvement and seating arrangement in the living room much better. Dining room table same old same old. Living Room LCD TV looks quite small for the room size.

The TV did seem a little small for the size of the room, as well as those in the bedrooms. I do know this was a big issue of contention between Marriott and the HOA. Though they did have HD. Their little cards that showed the chanels and numbers didn't list all of the channels, only the standard SD chanels. You could find many chanels that had multiple feeds: SD-Analog, SD-Digital, and HD-Digital. I would think there is a lot of added cost to those as they need a receiver for each channel. With many duplicate channels they could eliminate a lot of time also. Many times we would be watching a channel and then realize that we could probably also find it in digital or HD.. It would take a long time to flip through all of the channels to find the HD feed as only the SD-Analog channels were listed on the card. They really need someone to go through those and only have one feed for each channel, using the best option available.

Did anyone try the sofa beds?

No

Could you tell if they upgraded the tiles in the shower or just scraped the mould out of the grout? Were the new fixtures of a decent quality?

I haven't stayed before, only toured so I can't answer about the tiles. However the surround didn't appear to be new. The glass may have been, but the base to the shower surround definitly was not replaced.

How were the beds ... a true Revive bed with featherbed as in a full-service Marriott with down pillows and sheets, or did they cheapen that too....I'm a little suspicous that they just used the old mattresses.

Brian

Don't know for sure about the mattress, though it seemed new, as it was firm. There was no feather bed, but they did use down pillows and duvet.

 

[davemy]

Thanks for the pictures. It is a nice improvement. We can always find faults, but right now Beachplace has one of the lowest maintance fees for an almost beachfront Location, I didn't want to say beachfront because someone would want to correct me. My family likes the city atmosphere.

 

[glnrcker]

We also just got back from FLL

And completely agree that we are so glad we didn't purchase there!
Originally we were deciding between BPT and Ocean Pointe.
We stayed at Harbor Beach, but went by BPT. It was a such a short distance from the ocean to the street, I can't imagine you get that vacation
relaxed feeling when you're laying out on the beach. Yes, we were a little cramped in the room, but we weren't in there that long. The beach at
Harbor Beach was private and you felt like you were away. We definitely missed Ocean Pointe though and can't wait to go back in May. Last year was our first time there and we became so spoiled!

 

[thinze3]

I like it!

It looks very nice to me. I just can't belive there is no refrigerator.

Terry

 

[GrayFal]

I have not been to MBT in 4-5 years?? and it certainly is an improvement - love the sleek new look of the living room - great dining chairs!
Soothing, updated color scheme.

Thanks for posting.

 

[dioxide45]

It looks very nice to me. I just can't belive there is no refrigerator.

Terry

I thought that was strange too. Imaging only drinking warm soda's all week.

 

[pwrshift]

It was probably out for repairs. The BPT HOA has a history of going cheap wherever they can...like no featherbed on a Revive Bedding system - how did they get Marriott's OK on that! Continuing to use 12 year old hard goods (bedroom cabinets) spoils the whole effect when owners are told all hard goods are replaced every 10 years. Same old, same old.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=524962&postcount=11

... I just can't belive there is no refrigerator.

Terry

 

[minoter]

Terry,

There is a full size refrigerator in the Master unit kitchen and a small refrigerator in the lock-off unit. The pictures are good (thanks dioxide45) and will give most people a true representation of a renovated unit.

The bedding is the new Marriott brand standard and has the upgraded mattress and bedding package.

The Board realized that not everyone would be happy with the final renovated villa. However the majority of the responses to Marriott's satisfaction survey from owners and guests who have visited BP are extremely positive regarding the new look and design of the BeachPlace villas.

Eric Minotti

 

[dioxide45]

Terry,

There is a full size refrigerator in the Master unit kitchen and a small refrigerator in the lock-off unit.

I think the no refrigerator comments may have been in jest Since we clearly did not take any photos of the refrigerator.

The pictures are good (thanks dioxide45) and will give most people a true representation of a renovated unit.

The bedding is the new Marriott brand standard and has the upgraded mattress and bedding package.

The Board realized that not everyone would be happy with the final renovated villa. However the majority of the responses to Marriott's satisfaction survey from owners and guests who have visited BP are extremely positive regarding the new look and design of the BeachPlace villas.

Eric Minotti

I was definitly more impressed with the room than when we toured a little over a year ago. The unit had its quirks as does any resort (or home for that matter) where the units are of "cookie cutter" design. The interior halways seemed much improved also.

I must admit, that the television functionality is still bothering me even now that I am home. It just doesn't make any sense to offer the digital and HD channels if most people will never get to them as they will find their shows in the lower channel numbers (xx) and never bother to scan up through to the xx-xxx numbers. Updated cards or inserts for the welcome book would alleviate some of this.

 

[mas]

...I must admit, that the television functionality is still bothering me even now that I am home. It just doesn't make any sense to offer the digital and HD channels if most people will never get to them as they will find their shows in the lower channel numbers (xx) and never bother to scan up through to the xx-xxx numbers. Updated cards or inserts for the welcome book would alleviate some of this.

The easiest way to gain access to that info, for those of you who have laptop computers, is to go to titantv and enter the zipcode for Beach Place(33316) this will give the listings for the area including the HD channels.

 

[dioxide45]

The easiest way to gain access to that info, for those of you who have laptop computers, is to go to titantv and enter the zipcode for Beach Place(33316) this will give the listings for the area including the HD channels.

The problem with this is that while a channel may be say channel 7 in a specific area, the hotel may have the channel mapped to a different channel number on their system?

 

[minoter]

Terry,

I was as frustrated as you with the TV channel line-up card in the room. At the recent Board meeting, I indicated to Marriott that those channels should be listed on the TV card, as I also "found" the HD and digital channels. Management said that the channels were not "consistently" received in each room and that until Comcast could provide consistent broadcast of the HD channels, Marriott was not going to list the HD and digital channels on the TV card list.

I was not satisfied with that response. However, Marriott said that they will work with Comcast to determine which channels the BP account should be receiving. Management suggested that the HD and digital channels were a Comcast promotion and that Comcast could remove the HD and digital channels at any time. I will continue to urge Marriott to resolve this issue. I know the BP Comcast package does include at least 5 HD broadcast channels.

Eric

 

[pwrshift]

Was HBO on the new list??

I can remember a few years ago at MBP that HBO was removed from the TV channel list -- at a time when I was a Soprano's addict. It was even listed on the TV card as a channel...but it wasn't there!

Called the front desk and they first said it was Comcast's fault...then another person said it was a decision made by the HOA to save money. Not wanting to face missing 4 episodes of that show, I asked for the GM. Surprisingly, HBO was back on within a week. Squeaky wheel I guess ... but I can't imagine the HOA dropping HBO.

Brian

 

[dlpearson]

Terry,

There is a full size refrigerator in the Master unit kitchen and a small refrigerator in the lock-off unit. The pictures are good (thanks dioxide45) and will give most people a true representation of a renovated unit.

The bedding is the new Marriott brand standard and has the upgraded mattress and bedding package.

The Board realized that not everyone would be happy with the final renovated villa. However the majority of the responses to Marriott's satisfaction survey from owners and guests who have visited BP are extremely positive regarding the new look and design of the BeachPlace villas.

Eric Minotti

This is one happy BP owner with the renovations, especially since there was no special assessment!

 

[jasfan]

Rather DIRTY!!!

Just got here today, and noticed the front desk area was rather dirty - computers, keyboards, counters. The staff was shabily dressed in jeans.

Well, the villas are nicely renovated, yet dirty. The refridgerator is a mess, the drawers are filthy inside, and the oven is a mess on stove-top and the front of the glass.

This place has not been cleaned very well in a LONG time, new renovation or not....

 

[pwrshift]

Wow ... that's discouraging. Can you tell if the fridge and stove are new units or just the old ones refurbished. They didn't replace the cabinets so there is probably a decade or more of 'use' on them, if you know what I mean.

Brian

 

[minoter]

jasfan,

The condition of your villa is not acceptable. Please contact the GM (Al) and let him know of your dissatisfaction with the cleanliness of the villa. BP has just hired a new housekeeping manager and the Board is expecting the housekeeping to improve significantly at a post renovation BPT.

I will also contact the GM as a follow-up.

Eric Minotti

 

[dioxide45]

Why do some of the rooms have crown moulding and some do not?

It appears that only the main liging area has crown moulding. Crown moulding isn't in the bedrooms.

 

[jasfan]

Brian - the stove is new and nice. They just didn't clean it after install, so construction dirt on face and top. It is new though.

The refridgerator is not. It is quite old, which is OK, except it is really dirty. The front appears as though it hasn't been wiped down in a long time. The handle was actually crusted with crud, as was the face of the door. The inside is rather bad as well. Some of the utensils' handles are completely melted - they were left on a hot stove, not a minor dishwasher melt.

FYI - The crown molding is in the living room, not the bedroom as previously stated.

The property just seems to need stronger management or direction. The cleaning is a problem, and the staff is not very professional and is sloppy.

One of the bell-women is loud and obnoxious in the lobby - screaming at the football game on the TV. Actually running in the lobby and joking around with the front desk staff...the concierge barked when we asked for a restaurant suggestion that wasn't a chain we could get at home..."WHAT'S WRONG WITH CHAINS - THAT'S WHY THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM. THEY ARE GOOD."

Vinnie, a bellman is great. Very professional. Has actually stepped in and covered for some of the nonsense.

The front desk staff looked better on day 2, as day 1 they were in shabby jeans and tops that looked like they were going to a young singles bar.

I don't like to write negative stuff, yet this property seems to need much stronger management/direction. I have stayed at 10 different MVC properties, and this one seems the most broken regarding management issues. Most have minor issues if any, yet this seems cultural - in the fabric of the property.

Really not dwelling on this stuff. We are having a great time, the location and climate is terrific. We will leave having had a great time....

And thanks for the GM contact, as we will use it.